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A: Is foamy water making your pond look more like the inside of a washing machine than an aquatic oasis? All that bubbly white or gray buildup is likely being caused by an excess of organic material in the water.

Accumulation happens when too many fish are living in the pond, you’re overfeeding them, filtration is inadequate or there’s runoff seeping into your water garden. Then, as the water flows down your waterfall, air and water collide, causing the proteins and other organics to be trapped inside bubbles rather than turning into ammonia and nitrites. Air-water collision is why the foam forms, particularly the base of your waterfall.

What’s the solution?

Short-term, you can change out part of the pond’s water to remove the foam. When you do, be sure to add some Pond Logic® Stress Reducer PLUS to the fresh water, which will form a beneficial slime coat on your fish and make tap water safe for them. In addition, add Pond Logic® Defoam™ to your water. Safe for fish, plants and wildlife, you simply shake the can and pour its contents into the pond. The foam will disappear in no time.

Relocate Fish: Too many fish will produce excess waste, which means more foam. The rule is to allow 1 inch of adult fish per square foot of surface area, so if you have too many koi or goldfish in your pond, you might want to think about finding new homes for some of them.

Cut Back on Meals: If you’re feeding your fish too much or too often, the excess food adds to the extra organic material in your pond’s water. Only feed your fish an amount they’ll eat in a few minutes.

Add Nutrient-Eating Bacteria: To help break down the nutrient load in the water, add beneficial bacteria in such as, LiquidClear™ to work. They digest the dead organics in the pond, making the water crystal clear and foam free.

Aerate the Water: Aeration will also help reduce the nutrient load by circulating the water column and feeding fresh oxygen to the busy bacteria.

Foamy water can be a nuisance, but once you achieve some balance in your pond’s ecosystem, those bubbles will disappear in no time.

Pond Talk: If you have to reduce the fish population in your pond, how do you find new homes for them?

A: It’s nice to open a window on a warm spring day and let the fresh air flow through your house, right? Well, a partial or complete water change in your koi pond or water garden is the same thing: It freshens your finned pals’ environment, making them happy and healthy.

Here are five reasons why water changes are so important to your fish, plants and other aquatic life:

Nutrient Removal: Muck and debris buildup happens in just about every water feature. A water change manually removes any excess nutrients and chemicals like nitrates, phosphates and ammonia that can be harmful to fish and other underwater critters.

Healthy Fish: Fresh, clean water means improved water quality, which ultimately promotes your fishes’ health. Just as you need oxygen to thrive, your fish need clean water to thrive. Their well being is directly related to the liquid environment in which they live.

Algae Control: Pea soup and string algae feed on all that decomposing waste, which they use as fertilizer. By removing those excess nutrients in the water column with a water change, you can discourage the growth of algae.

Fights Foam: Foam forms when excess organic material has accumulated in your water garden. When this nutrient-laden water pours down your waterfall, the air and water collide, causing the proteins and other organics to be trapped inside bubbles rather than turning into ammonia and nitrites. A water change will quickly reduce that foamy buildup.

Clears Water, Stabilizes pH: A water change will also improve the appearance of cloudy water and maintain pH levels, resulting in a pristine pond filled with healthy fish, lush greenery and clean water.

To keep stress levels down among your fish, we recommend doing partial water changes as soon as water temperatures reach 50° F. In addition, be sure to add some Stress Reducer PLUS and LiquidClear™ to your water. The Stress Reducer PLUS forms a beneficial slime coat on your fish and makes tap water safe for them. The LiquidClear’s™ beneficial bacteria helps to digest dead organics in the water, making it crystal clear.

Pond Talk: How often do you do water changes in your koi pond or water garden?

A: Clean, clear water is a must-have in any water feature. It allows you to see those gorgeous koi and goldfish swimming below the surface. It shows that you have excellent water quality, with plenty of oxygen for your pond’s inhabitants—including the microscopic ones, like beneficial bacteria. And it puts off no offensive odors, which means you can host shindigs by your water garden without scaring off your friends.

When your water quality is suffering, your pond is telling you that your filtration isn’t up to par. Here are four clear signs that say you need to kick it up a notch.

Algae Blooms, Clarity Concerns: If you have a filtration system in place but you still have water clarity issues and algae blooms, that’s an obvious indicator that you need an upgrade. When selecting a more powerful filtration system, like our AllClear™ PLUS Pressurized Filters with a built-in ultraviolet clarifier, make sure it’s sized appropriately for your pond and its nutrient load.

Fish Frenzy: If your pond’s resident fish have multiplied and grown over the years, then you’re likely overdue for a more powerful filter system. Most filter systems are marketed for a minimal fish load, so too many fish producing waste will overload the system. Remember: The rule is to allow 1 inch of adult fish per square foot of surface area. If you have too many koi or goldfish in your pond, you should think about finding new homes for some of your finned friends or increasing your filtration.

Toxic Test Results: Test your pond’s water with one of our Master Test Kits to find out what your ammonia, nitrite and phosphate levels are. If you see high ammonia levels or if your fishes’ health has been suffering, the pond lacks proper filtration.

Foamy Falls: Have you seen foam build up at the base of your waterfall or stream? All that frothiness, which is caused by excess protein and oil excreted by fish and other pond dwellers, can be a sign of excessive nutrient levels caused by inadequate filtration. A higher-powered filter system can help remove and dissipate that foam.

If you have a waterfall filter box, you can easily boost your filtration system’s water-cleaning power by adding Matala® Filter Pads. With four different densities—low, medium, high and super high—you can mix and match them to suit your pond’s unique needs.

Pond Talk: What telltale sign told you that it was time to increase your filtration system?

When you build a backyard waterfall, it’s important to remember that, unlike a natural waterfall, every drop of water that cascades down the face of your mini-Niagara is delivered by a pump. In order to make that limited supply of pumped water – and your waterfall – look as dramatic and beautiful as possible, it helps to seal up the nooks and crannies behind and between rocks. And that’s just one of the places where Waterfall Foam comes in handy.

When applied carefully, Waterfall Foam seals the areas beneath and around rocks where water naturally flows. When those areas are sealed, water is diverted over the tops of the rocks, making the waterfall look fuller and more beautiful. In addition to its aesthetic benefits, Waterfall Foam also helps to secure and stabilize larger rocks, which in turn reduces maintenance.

But why use Waterfall Foam instead of hardware store spray-foam insulation? First and foremost, hardware store foams are formulated as insulation – and their chemical ingredients can be harmful or fatal to fish and plant life. Waterfall Foam is carefully formulated to be fish and plant safe. Second, hardware store foam simply isn’t designed to blend in – where Waterfall Foam looks natural, and works wonders to enhance the look and longevity of your waterfall.

The key to constructing a quality water garden, or anything for that matter, is to use the proper tools. While you may be able to fashion a lot of your own components or incorporate random on hand materials into your pond build you can miss out on potential benefits that result from years of product testing and development as well as functional design. While this holds true for anything from skimmers, filter media, and waterfall boxes, it is also true of small scale materials like waterfall foam.

Waterfall foam is primarily used to aid in the placement and retention of stone in your water garden and to seal gaps between these stones to manipulate the flow of water down the waterfall and along the streambed. Simply put, the foam expands between your rocks keeping the water from flowing behind them. As the foam dries it also holds the rocks firmly into place so you don’t have to worry about stones washing downstream with the flow of water, rock collapse from seasonal shifting or the displacement of loose perimeter rocks.

12oz cans are available for one time use and include an application tip. You simply place the tip between gaps and crevices and pull the trigger to release product to the desired area. You can also use it as an adhesive to hold stones in place. Any excess foam that protrudes from between the rocks can easily be trimmed away. Another great aspect of using waterfall foam is that if you mess up, or decide to change the location of some of your rocks, you can still cut away the foam and re-arrange them. The foam is black in color to blend in with the surroundings and is plant and fish safe. For contractors, or those of you who change your minds a lot, and use a foam gun. You can use 24oz cans which can be used in more than one application. If you need to maintain your foam gun, you can clean it with Foam Gun Cleaner between uses.

POND TALK: Have you used Black Waterfall Foam in your water garden? Have you used it to create any unique rock formations or incorporated other natural materials into your stream?

Q: Foam seems to buildup on my water’s surface. What is causing this and can I get rid of it? – Tom of Ohio

A: Have you ever walked out towards your water garden and noticed a bunch of foam around where your waterfall comes into the pond? Sometimes this foam can get a little out of control and began to become unsightly.

Foam is the result of an excessive accumulation of organic waste in your pond caused by over population of fish, overfeeding, poor filtration, runoff and various other water quality issues. This foam will mostly occur in agitated water such as around your waterfall. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to reduce this foam buildup. Some are quick fixes and others are more long-term solutions.

Quick Fix Solutions:

Use Shakedown Anti-Foamer - This anti-foamer works quickly to eliminate any foam building. Simply pour it in around foamy areas for immedate, but temporary control.

Surface Skimmer – If you have the pleasure of having a skimmer built into your water garden, usually the foam will be pulled right into it.

Partial Water Change – Replacing 10-25% of the water every few days until the problem is resolved is one way to dilute the excess organics to help reduce foam.

Long-Term Solutions:

Limit the amount of contributing organics by reducing fish feeding and making sure you don’t overload your water garden with fish.

Make sure your filtration is adequate for your sized water garden as well as your fish load.

Attack and reduce organic build-up an excess waste by using beneficial natural bacterias such as the DefensePAC®.

Hopefully the above suggestions will help you if you are struggling with foam problem.

POND TALK: Do you have a foam problem in your water garden? What did you do to reduce the problem?

Foam is the result of an excessive accumulation of organic waste in your pond caused by over population of fish, overfeeding, poor filtration, runoff and various other water quality issues. This foam will mostly occur in agitated water such as around your waterfall. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to reduce this foam buildup. Some are quick fixes and others are more long-term solutions.